You may know that holding down attack with your cutlass will charge up for a dash attack - but did you know it can used to slice through the water at incredible speed?

The Sword Dash allows you to charge up and move a short distance forward quickly while dealing incredible damage - but after the dash you'll be stunned for several moments. However, if you position yourself correctly, you can use it to move along the water at incredible speed for a good distance.

This is because the physics of the water allow any moving object to stay at the velocity and direction at which it enters for a period - when jumping into the water from the crow's nest, you'll shoot straight down. This also works moving horizontally too:

To perform this correctly, you will either need to stand on a ledge (this can work either on a rock or cliff facing the ocean, or on the edge of your ship), or you can stand in the shallows just one step before you enter the water to swim. Once you let go of the charge attack, you'll move forward automatically, and upon entering the water, the speed of the dash will carry over for several moments - letting you get to and from your ship quickly.

Remember that if you botch it, or don't time the dash correctly or are too far away from the water, you'll be stunned for several moments. You'll also technically be unable to do anything even when speeding along for a brief moment - so be careful not to torpedo under your ship because you can't grab the ladder until the stun wears off.

The Merchant Alliance differs from other Trading Companies because they are the only faction that no only tells you what your goal will be, but provides you with cages to get the animals you seek. Once you have started Voyages for this faction, you can return to the Merchant Alliance Rep and get the crates needed for your quest.

What you may not realize is that you can abandon the Voyage and still keep the crates you have gathered thus far. This may not seem like a smart idea - but remember that a chicken coop can hold any of the four variants, and some are worth more than others when needed for a Voyage.

Because of this, you can continually start Voyages, gather crates, and abandon the Voyage until you have a hoard of crates, and then gather loads of animals. You can then return to the Merchant Alliance and start new Voyages until you get one that requires animals you already have on board.

This is also incredibly useful for selling the higher value goods like the Golden Chicken and other golden animals. by stockpiling them, you can ensure that you can sell them back for a good amount of gold and reputation - just remember that your animal farm is subject to thievery on the high seas - so be prepared to defend them!